Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Ponyfic Roundup 40: Quick Laughs

Ponyfic Roundup returns with another collection of ponyfics to... er, round up. Okay, that's not a very dramatic beginning, is it? Still. This time I looked for Comedy-tagged stories with under 2,000 words. Other than one I'd reviewed before (Return of Evil Belle - The Eviling; PR 19) these were the six highest-rated such fics on Fimfiction at the time I searched. I got a moderately good return out of them, though it wasn't an entirely smooth ride...

Pick of the fics

Martial Bliss by SkywriterShining Armor and OCComedy/Random; 2K words; Nov 2012; Everyone
Captain Shining Armor is accosted in a bar by a grizzled old soldier who wants to teach him a lesson. That lesson will end up saving the world. This is a crackfic, but it's an extremely funny and well-written crackfic. Unlike many other Comedy-tagged fics out there, this one truly made me laugh, not just smile gently. It's not absolutely perfect – there's a pun I suspect the author found much funnier than I did – but this is so darn enjoyable that it gets full marks anyway. ★★★★★

Other stories

The Battle of Fort Book by PinkamenaPiePrincessTwilight, Cadance and Shining ArmorComedy/Slice of Life; 1K words; Aug 2012; Everyone
General Twilight, with the help of Captain Smartypants and Private Cadence, defends the mighty Fort Book against the evil Captain Shining Armor. An absolutely adorable tale of Twilight's fillyhood, told from her perspective. It's possible to nit-pick here and there, but in the end any cynicism I might have had was worn down by just how charming this story is. It's a great shame the author is no longer active. ★★★★

The Eagle Has Landed by CyanblackstoneLuna and OthersComedy/Random/Adventure/Human; 2K words; Jan 2014; Everyone
Written as a one-shot, though sequels have since appeared, this is the story of what happened when Neil Armstrong reached the Moon... and found a large blue alicorn already there. This is okay and decently written, though beyond the comedic setup I didn't actually find it all that funny. There just isn't very much to it, even for a story of this length. A notch above many Human stories, at least. ★★

Luna makes toast. [sic] by Overlord-FlinxLunaComedy/Random/Slice of Life; 1K words; Jun 2013; Everyone
The Princess of the Night, irritated at being left a sandwich in the fridge by Celestia, resolves to show that she can make a better snack. This was a bit of a "meh" story for me: I don't find the whole "Luna attempts mundane task" thing terribly interesting in itself, and that's pretty much this entire story. (I was actually surprised it wasn't even older.) That said, it didn't do much wrong, other than the very awkwardly-written limerick. ★★

Pinkie Pie's Last Nightmare Night by Admiral BiscuitPinkie Pie, Twilight and Rainbow DashComedy/Slice of Life; 1K words; Oct 2014; Teen
Pinkie Pie's latest Nightmare Night prank goes a little bit over the top... I really don't have a great deal to say about this one. It's solidly written and gently amusing; if that's what you're looking for in a ponyfic, you could do an awful lot worse. Don't expect miracles here and you'll probably enjoy yourself. ★★★

Sometimes a Popsicle Is Just a Popsicle by Lurks-no-MoreCelestia and LunaComedy; 2K words; Aug 2012; Everyone
Princess Celestia receives a batch of popsicles (ice lollies to you and me) with flavours inspired by the Mane Six. She's not altogether pleased with the idea... but then she tastes them. The author clearly put a lot of thought into the flavours, which are cleverly designed. Funnier at the beginning than later on, with an ending that's decent but unspectacular. Pushes its Everyone rating a little on occasion, but still fun and quite original. ★★★